1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a new and improved vertically adjustable window treatment, and in particular, to a vertically adjustable window treatment containing art glass.
2. Description of the Background Art
Traditionally, a stained glass panel or window is created by joining together individually-colored elements of glass or a similar material to form a composite panel or window of significant luminance and color. The resulting decorative panels are typically utilized as either a structural element wherein the panel is permanently affixed within a wall, as a window, or as an ornamental object where the panel is provided with an appropriate border and is mounted for display.
On the other hand, window treatments are typically flexible material or adjustable apparatus which covers a conventional transparent window. Well-known window treatments include horizontal blinds, vertical blinds, window shades, the family of roman shades and various types of curtains and drapes. Each of these window treatments is designed to selectively block light that passes through a transparent window. In addition, window treatments provide privacy and add to the decor of a room. A user generally controls the amount of light that passes through the window treatment by adjusting some characteristic of the window treatment itself. For example, in horizontal blinds, the user adjusts the angle of each horizontal vane such that light passing through an adjacent window is partially blocked by each vane. Alternatively, with further adjustment, the horizontal vanes attain a spaced-apart parallel relation such that substantially all the light that passes through the adjacent window also passes through the horizontal blinds. Typically, window treatments are made of an opaque material and may be decorated with a printed design which is either applied directly to the window treatment material by a printing or embossing process, or placed as a coating upon the window treatment in the form of covering sheet, such as fabric or other printed material. In this manner, the window treatment can be coordinated, for example, with the color scheme of a room or the wallpaper and/or fabrics utilized in connection therewith.
One example of a horizontal blind system being decorated with a printed design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,529 issued Nov. 23, 1993. The '529 patent discloses the application of a decorative decal to each of the vanes in a horizontal blind system to provide a decorative covering for the blinds. When the blinds are closed, the individual decorative decals on each vane form one comprehensive image. The vanes are conventional opaque vanes that, when closed to form the decal image, block substantially all the light from an adjacent window.
In an example of a horizontally adjustable window treatment, U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,413 issued Jul. 9, 1991, a vertical window blind system includes vertical vanes that are formed of unitary sheets of acrylic plastic. Each vane includes a plurality of colored plastic elements attached to the plastic sheet to provide a stained glass-like look for each vane. As with conventional vertical blinds, each vane is attached at a top end to a mechanism that rotates each vane about a vertical axis. Such rotation opens and closes the blinds. When all the vanes are closed, the overall image formed by the vanes, taken together, simulates a conventional stained glass window panel, although the vanes are, in fact, fabricated of plastic. A vertical blind system such as that disclosed in the '413 patent cannot utilize actual stained glass elements because the vertical window blinds are large and generally have substantial length. Such large vanes, if made of stained glass, are relatively heavy and would require a substantial frame to support the glass. Furthermore, since these large vertical vanes are only supported at a top end, upon closing the blinds or if wind passes through the blinds, the vanes impact one another and the stained glass would become broken. To avoid these substantial problems of incorporating stained glass into a window treatment, the '413 patent discloses using the unitary plastic sheet with colored plastic elements glued thereto. Consequently, heretofore, actual stained glass has not been incorporated into window treatments.
Although vertically adjustable window treatments, i.e., window treatments that, in some manner, move vertically with respect to an adjacent window, are generally more stable than horizontally adjustable window treatments, neither stained glass, stained glass-like material nor any other art glass material has, heretofore, ever been incorporated into vertically adjustable window treatments such as horizontal blinds, shutters, roller shades, or various types of roman shades. As such, the beauty of stained glass windows has heretofore not been combined with the most flexible and stable of window treatments, vertically adjustable window treatments.
Therefore, a need exists in the art for vertically adjustable window treatments that include stained glass, stained glass-like material or other art glass material such that a window treatment can provide the beauty of stained glass and the flexibility of a conventional vertically adjustable window treatment.